Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick has faced criticism after complaining about visiting a Birmingham neighbourhood where he said he “didn’t see another white face” and described it as “not the kind of country I want to live in.” The comments were made during a dinner at the Aldridge-Brownhills Conservative Association on 14 March, following a GB News video on litter in Handsworth.
Jenrick told attendees: “I went to Handsworth in Birmingham the other day to do a video on litter and it was absolutely appalling. It’s as close as I’ve come to a slum in this country. But the other thing I noticed there was that it was one of the worst integrated places I’ve ever been to. In fact, in the hour and a half I was filming news there I didn’t see another white face.” He added that he wanted people to live alongside each other, not parallel lives.
Local MP Ayoub Khan described the claims as “wildly false” and “incredibly irresponsible,” arguing that the visible litter was due to a bin strike and 14 years of austerity under Conservative governments. Former Labour MP Khalid Mahmood said Jenrick was “stoking divisions” and that it was impossible to judge integration from a short visit. According to Birmingham City Council, Handsworth’s ethnic composition is 25% Pakistani, 23% Indian, 10% Bangladeshi, 16% Black African or Caribbean, 10% mixed or other, and 9% white.
Jenrick defended his remarks, stating that six government reports over 20 years had highlighted the problem of parallel communities. He said: “Unlike other politicians, I won’t shy away from this issue. We have to integrate communities if we are to be a united country.” Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch declined to criticise Jenrick, saying: “People will use different words from what I would use. I’m not a micro-manager.”
